The Newport Television-owned stations in Syracuse, Harrisburg, and Albany have been pulled from Verizon FiOS as the company was unable to reach a new retrans agreement with the cable provider before yesterday’s midnight deadline.
According to Newport executive Michael DiPasquale, the company has been “working diligently to reach a resolution in this matter.”
Newport’s previous retrans agreement with Verizon expired at 11:59 p.m. last night, leaving FiOS customers without WSYR in Syracuse, WXXA in Albany, and WHP in Harrisburg.
Adding more drama to the negotiations is the fact that FiOS customers will be unable to view a number of key NFL playoff games this weekend unless a new deal is reached. CBS-affiliate WHP and Fox-affiliate WXXA are set to carry games this weekend.